Bells are ringing....

With wedding season in full affect, I thought to myself, why not make it a little easier for the maid of honor. I've been in that position before, and you definitely want to assist your friend/bride to be to your fullest, as well as be organize to remove some bridal stress. So I came up with a list of duties to assist the bride and prepare the maid of honor.

Pre-Wedding

• Ordering and choosing decorations and favors.
• Shopping for the wedding dress.
• Register for wedding gifts and letting the guest know (of course)
• Help with seating arrangements
• Plan and host bridal shower and bachelorette party
• Keep order and organization of the bridesmaids.
• Attend and help with dinner rehearsal.
• Attend bridal fairs, cake and catering tasting.

Wedding Day

• Bride arrives to ceremony (refer to checklist).
• Assist bride to get into dress and make up.
• Be the messenger for the bride.
• Check the reception room.
• Make sure the bride has a privacy and a quiet stress free area.
• Help with veil and train.
• Calm the bride down at the alter.
• Care for the bouquet.
• Keep safe the groom's ring.
• Be the witness, sign the marriage license.
• Say a toast/speech.
• Make sure you lock up the money bag.
• Constantly provide moral support to the bride.

Sweet Words for a Loving Event

A Maid of Honor has many duties when tending to the bride to be, but one duty that generally gets overlooked, is coming up with a great speech. So here are some great pointers/ideas to creating a sensational speech that will touch the newlyweds and the guests.

• Stories the bride shared about the groom.
• Funny (nothing too embarrassing) stories while growing up.
• How long you have known each other (the bride and yourself).
• Appropriate embarrassing moments shared with the bride.
• How beautiful the newlyweds look.
• Mention some funny habits of the bride.
• Words of advice.
• Wishes for the newlyweds (concerning success, babies, happiness, etc.)

The newlyweds will definitely appreciate your sweet and kind words. And having some key points prepared, takes away much of the stress when standing in front of a big audience...good luck :)

Maid of Honor Checklist (Wedding Day)

A great list for a Maid of Honor that wants to impress...and be prepared.

• Dress
• Bobby pins
• Make up
• Make up for touch ups
• Clear nail polish
• Nail glue
• Hairspray
• Tissue
• Perfume
• Jewelry for the bride and yourself 
• Wedding day shoes and casual shoes 
• Undergarments
• Needle, scissors and thread (white thread and thread that matches the color of the bridesmaids dresses)
• Contact solution
• Breath mints
• Panty hose/nylons (at least 2 pairs)
• Change of clothes (for the bride and yourself)
• Watch
• Any prescription medication for bride or groom
• Plane tickets for the bride and groom
• Flowers
• Extra money 
• A friend that drives and has a car (in case of an last minute emergencies)
• Your speech
• A card to give to the bride
• 2 garters (1 to keep and 1 to toss)
• Groom's ring
• Camera
• Tylenol, tums and antacid
• Deodorant/Antiperspirant
• Numbers of all important people
• Toothbrush
• Tampons and pads
• Sanitizer wipes
• Tide to go